Following the incident, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted, “President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern…”

Twitter

She later tweeted a video which many argue exaggerated Acosta’s motion, making it appear more aggressive. According to Politifact, “No expert we spoke to found evidence the video was intentionally sped up or slowed down. Instead, they found the quality and clarity of the original video was watered down, ultimately obfuscating what actually happened... it seems likely that the video was distorted as it made its way to the Internet in the form of a GIF and then back to video.”

“This accusation of assault... is an insult to real victims of harassment and assault. But from a White House whose President has in the past admitted ‘grabbing’ women in a sexual manner, whose record on misogyny is so poor, and who only last month praised a Republican candidate for body-slamming a reporter, it is breathtakingly hypocritical."

From the Right

The right argues that the revocation is justified due to Acosta’s disrespectful behavior.

“White House press credentials are not a universal right. There are implicit expectations of proper behavior, and the White House decision to suspend Acosta’s credential is warranted… try to imagine Acosta and his ilk behaving in similarly hostile fashion toward Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Keep trying, but you can’t imagine it because it never happened... Even when skeptical, they were respectful."

“As soon as the intern made an attempt to take the mic, it was Mr. Acosta’s role to give it up... To be bold is fine. Rudeness is okay. It can be an effective strategy with a news maker. Physical tussles over mics are not. Such behavior is unnecessary theater with no goal other than self aggrandizement."

“Acosta’s approach resulted in the story being about Acosta, not anything the Trump had to answer for about the migrant caravan or the Russia investigation. And that only serves Acosta, not the people who depend on him for the news.”